This application claims priority of Danish Application No. PA 1998 00494, filed Apr. 8, 1998, and International Application No. PCT/DK 99/00170, filed Mar. 25, 1999, and published as WO 99/51835 on Oct. 14, 1999. The disclosure of each of the foregoing documents, as well as that of each U.S. and foreign patent and patent application mentioned in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a flashing member for a flashing frame for weather-shielding connection of a roof-penetrating building part to an adjacent roofing, said member comprising an L-profile with a first profile wall for positioning at least partially under the roofing and a second, upright profile wall for positioning along a side of the roof-penetrating building part facing the roofing.
Flashing frames composed partly of mutually overlapping flashing members of this type are known for instance from U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,431 and SE-B-416072 for flashing of roof-penetrating building parts like chimneys, walls, etc.
The invention aims in particular at providing an improved flashing frame of the type in question for weather-shielding mounting of the frame structure of a roof window in a pitched roof, in particular one with flat roofing, for instance slates, but may also be adapted to other types of roof-penetrating building parts like for instance chimneys, air shafts and the like.
When mounting roof windows in such pitched roofs, it is i.a. known from DE-B-21 42 733 to use mutually overlapping frame members in the form of L-profiles in abutment against the sides of the window frame in parallel with the pitch of the roof. In this known design, the upright profile wall of the L-profiles has a comparatively low height, such that for its weather-shielding connection with a superjacent covering member on the frame side, a separate insert profile with hook-and/or bead-shaped engagement means is needed for sealing connection with the upright profile wall of the L-profile and the superjacent frame covering member, respectively.
Though it is thereby possible to avoid the otherwise necessary securing of the upright wall of the L-profile to the frame side member, which mostly consists of wood, by means of screws or nails which are driven through the upright profile wall and which may give rise to a subsequent risk of water-penetration into the frame side member and possibly the roof structure itself, the construction becomes complicated and more expensive and the mounting is made difficult on account of the special, separate insertion profile.
On this background, it is the object of the invention to provide a flashing member which is designed in such a manner that several individual members in a simple manner may be connected in partly overlapping relationship in extension of one another under mutual interlocking of overlapping members to prevent relative displacement thereof for the formation of a continuous frame member, and which is at the same time simple in manufacture and easy to handle and mount on the building site without the use of screws, nails or the like fastening members for securing to the roof-penetrating building part.
To meet this object the flashing member according to the invention is characterized in that the upright profile wall is provided with a profiling for engaging a corresponding profiling in the upright profile wall of an overlapping, longitudinally displaced neighbouring member in the flashing frame for preventing longitudinal displacement between said members and provided with integral locking means for locking the member relative to said neighbouring member, said locking means comprising a protruding, locking flap at at least one end of the member, said locking flap being bendable to a locking position by manual deformation.
In a preferred embodiment of the flashing member, the profile may be manufactured by punching of sheet flashing material, for instance aluminium sheet material, followed by profiling of the upright profile wall, which may advantageously consist of a pleating or corrugation with comparatively closely packed foldings or waves as know per se from GB-A-2189275. On the installation site, the L-profiles are easily and quickly connected in extension of each other under mutual overlapping, and the overlapping parts of the two neighbouring members are mutually interlocked by means of the manually bendable locking flaps.
Advantageous embodiments of such a flashing member are stated herein.
Moreover, the invention relates to a flashing frame for weather-shielding connection of a roof-penetrating building part to an adjacent roofing, in particular in a pitched roof, which frame comprises mutually connected frame members of weather-shielding material for positioning along the sides of the roof-penetrating building part, said sides facing the roofing, whereby frame members for positioning along sides of the roof-penetrating building member which do not extend perpendicularly to the pitch of the roof consist of flashing members positioned in extension of each other with mutual overlapping as explained above.
According to the invention such a flashing frame is characterized in that for positioning against sides of the roof-penetrating building part, which extend perpendicularly to the pitch of the roof, the flashing frame comprises throughgoing frame members for abutment against said sides in their entire extension, a frame member for positioning against an upperside of the roof-penetrating building part being designed as a hood-like member for overlapping the upper flashing member in each adjacent side frame member.
In addition to the advantages described above, this design of the side frame members makes a sealing connection possible of the throughgoing frame members for positioning against the sides of the roof-penetrating building part which are perpendicular to the pitch of the roof, for instance top and bottom members of the frame for a roof window.